I'm going to stick with a solid 3-star rating for this book because overall, I liked it. There were some parts that I really liked and much that I didn't care for. This book really was a rollercoaster ride (albeit a depressing one) of emotions and plot twists. Following Jurgis through his life in Chicago (and elsewhere) was often a challenge but always exciting. Funnily, I didn't like Jurgis as an immigrant worker, criminal, political muscle, union worker, union detractor, or socialist... the only time I had respect for the main character was when he was a hobo; travelling the country. ( )

I have heard about this book for decades, and knew about its expose of the meatpacking industry. However, I only read it after chancing to come across it while searching for something else on my Kindle. After a few pages, I was hooked. The story of a family of Lithuanian Immigrants who come to Chicago and end up being consumed by the meatpacking industry and its corollaries, such as canning, is a masterpiece of melodrama. The scenes in the meatpacking plant are vivid and disgusting--but not so much that I didn't have sausage for dinner last night--and the mistreatment of the family, including its women and children, is described in excruciating detail. Perhaps it loses some of its effect because I was expecting it to be really awful (and it was), but what I found most engaging was Sinclair's writing. While occasionally given to a bit of bombast, especially when socialist politics enters the picture, he was an extremely talented writer. Some of the scenes in this book will stick in a reader's mind for ages. The book loses a bit of its intensity when the main character, Jurgis, who has reached the end of his rope is miraculously swept up in Chicago's Democratic Party machine and finds himself living the high life for a time. This gives the author a chance to depict the political corruption of Chicago close up, but the book becomes more and more of a tract rather than a novel. The final chapters, where Jurgis discovers the wonders of Socialism, are a bit reminiscent of EQUALITY, Edward Bellamy's sequel to Looking Backward, although only has one character speak for a few pages about the advantages of the new socialist society. In addition to its meandering conclusion, this book, which is otherwise sympathetic to the poor and downtrodden, uses revolting racial stereotypes to describe the black men who came to Chicago as strike breakers during the meatpackers strike.

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend you do so. It is, despite its flaws, a riveting read. And its main theme, the exploitation of the masses by the rich elite, is perennially relevant. ( )

This is a very interesting book that covers the meat packing industry in Chicago, the political corruption, and the evils of capitalism. The story revolves around the charcter of Jurgis who is a Lithuanian imigrant. He and his family become used and largely destroyed by the capitalist system of industrialism. The story ends with a hopeful opinion that socialism would overcome and improve the life of the working class. The detail provided by the author is enlightening but the naive belief in socialism is unfounded, although politcal reform was definitely needed. ( )

Somewhat spoilery: There is nothing worse than getting through an entire book to suddenly find the character have an epiphany that is like "And then she found Jesus, and all her problems were solved." For this book, replace Jesus with the Socialist party.

The characterization was good, so I was really hoping to enjoy this story. I cared for the characters and felt that they were real. Yet the structure of the plot is so repetitive and predictable that it easily slid into the ridiculous. It's as if Sinclair asked himself how bad could he possibly make the lives of the main characters before he lost his audience, and then tried to tip-toe over the line anyways.

I was considering giving this novel a three, until I got to the last thirty pages, which is so drawn out and unnecessarily preachy that I had to push myself to finish this book. I only made it because I had to write a paper regarding the ending specifically. I felt as if my intelligence was insulted by this ending.

It's an okay read, worth it only for the historical details concerning the life of the laborer, and the grossness of the meat-packing industry. But consider yourself warned. ( )

It was four o'clock when the ceremony was over and the carriages began to arrive.

Quotations

Into this wild-beast tangle these men had been born without their consent, they had taken part in it because they could not help it; that they were in gaol was no disgrace to them, for the game had never been fair, the dice were loaded. They were swindlers and thieves of pennies and dimes, and they had been trapped and put out of the way by the swindlers and thieves of millions of dollars.

Wikipedia in English (2)

In 1906, The Jungle was published and became an immediate success, selling more than 150,000 copies. A best seller overseas, it was published in 17 languages over the next few years. After President Theodore Roosevelt read Jungle, he ordered an investigation into the meat packing industry, and ultimately the passing of the Meat Inspection Act was a result of Sinclair’s book.

Upton Sinclair's unflinching chronicle of crushing poverty and oppression set in Chicago in the early 1900s.

EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information

• A chronology of the author's life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.